Sinbad

Sinbad is a misleading name for a comic who is best known for eschewing the sin of bad language. But that's been the name of this big-and-small screen stand-up star since America first met him in 1985 as a contestant on Star Search (a 20th-century predecessor of The X Factor, kids). That year, the six-and-a half-foot tall Sinbad topped his pre-conservative competitor Dennis Miller (who was far funnier then). Since then Sinbad has brought the funny to fans who likewise dislike comedy's raunchier norm. The Mr. Nice Guy image has been a winning formula: Comedy Central ranks Sinbad among the Top 100 Comedians of All Time. But he did recently say ''bitch'' and ''testicles'' in a guest spot on edgy sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a real departure from the vanilla image cultivated in the 1990s on Bill Cosby's pristine A Different World and in various cheesy film roles.